National Bank Securities Inc. announces a proposal for a fixed-rate administration fee to increase the predictability and

National Bank Securities Inc. announces a proposal for a fixed-rate
administration fee to increase the predictability and clarity of Meritage
Portfolio expenses as well as other proposals pertaining to the Meritage
Portfolios
MONTREAL, Aug. 1, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - National Bank Securities Inc. ("NBS")
today announced a proposal to change the way operating expenses are charged to
the Meritage Portfolios (the "Administration Fee Proposal"). Securityholders
will be asked to vote on the Administration Fee Proposal, as well as other
proposals described below, at a special meeting to be held on or about October
22, 2013 (the "Special Meeting").
"This proposal is intended to protect securityholders from potential increases
in certain operating expenses. These increases will now be borne by National
Bank Securities," said Michel Falk, President and Chief Executive Officer of
NBS. "This proposal, if it receives securityholder approval, will result in
greater predictability and clarity of expenses," he added.
If the Administration Fee Proposal is approved by the securityholders, NBS
will start to pay, on or about October 29, 2013, all operating expenses of the
Meritage Portfolios except the portfolio costs listed below. In return, the
Meritage Portfolios will pay a fixed-rate administration fee to NBS. The
fixed-rate administration fee for each Meritage Portfolio will be less than or
equal to the actual operating expenses paid by each Meritage Portfolio during
the last six-month period.
Currently, each Meritage Portfolio bears all of its operating expenses. If the
Administration Fee Proposal is approved by the securityholders, the operating
expenses payable by NBS will include transfer agency and recordkeeping costs,
custodial costs, accounting and valuation fees, audit fees, legal fees, the
costs of preparing and distributing financial reports, simplified
prospectuses, annual information forms, fund facts, continuous disclosure
documents and other investor communications and the costs of trustee services
relating to registered tax plans. NBS will pay these expenses, provided such
expenses are incurred in the normal course of business of the Meritage
Portfolios.
The portfolio costs that will continue to be paid by the Meritage Portfolios
will include taxes, the costs of complying with any material change to
existing regulatory requirements and/or any new regulatory requirements,
including any new fees introduced after August 1, 2013, interest and borrowing
costs, fees related to external services that were not commonly charged in the
Canadian mutual fund industry as at August 1, 2013, fees and expenses related
to National Bank Funds Corporation's board of directors, fees and expenses of
the Independent Review Committee ("IRC") and operating expenses relating to
the operating expenses payable by NBS that are incurred outside the normal
course of business of the Meritage Portfolios.
The fixed-rate administration fee will be subject to a transitional adjustment
payment up to December 31, 2013. Similar fixed-rate administration fee
proposals have been approved by the securityholders of other mutual funds
managed by large Canadian corporations.
The Administration Fee Proposal was submitted to the Meritage Portfolios'
Independent Review Committee (the "IRC"). The IRC considered the
Administration Fee Proposal and determined that, if implemented, it would
achieve a fair and reasonable result for the Meritage Portfolios.
Other proposed changes to the Meritage Corporate Portfolios
At the Special Meeting, the shareholders of the Meritage Corporate Portfolios
will also be asked to vote on changes to the fundamental investment objectives
of the Meritage Corporate Portfolios that would allow, in particular, each
such Portfolio to invest in its equivalent Trust Portfolio. Appendix A
provides a summary of the proposed changes in this regard. If the changes to
the investment objectives are approved by the shareholders of the Meritage
Corporate Portfolios and the exemptive relief necessary to implement the
proposed investment objectives is obtained from the Canadian Securities
Authorities, the fund investment strategies will be revised accordingly.
Subject to receipt of shareholder approval and the above-mentioned exemptive
relief, the proposed changes to the investment objectives will take effect on
or about October 29, 2013.
Finally, the shareholders of the Meritage Corporate Portfolios will be asked
to vote on a change to the redemption rights of the Meritage Corporate
Portfolios that would permit such Portfolios to redeem shares more efficiently
when closing series that are no longer economically viable or that have
become, in any way, detrimental to investors or the Portfolio.
Securityholders are asked to refer to the amendments to the simplified
prospectus and the Annual Information Form of the Meritage Portfolios, which
will be filed shortly and will contain the relevant information concerning the
proposals. These amendments will be posted on www.sedar.com
All information pertaining to the changes proposed as part of the Special
Meeting will be provided to current investors, and potential investors can
obtain this information from National Bank Securities Inc. prior to the
Special Meeting. The time and place of the Special Meeting will appear in the
notice of meeting and management circular which shall be mailed to
securityholders. In addition, this information will be posted on www.sedar.com
and will be available from your advisor or from National Bank Securities Inc.
About National Bank Securities Inc.
The Meritage Portfolios (the "Portfolios") are offered by National Bank
Securities Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Bank of Canada.
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be
associated with investments in the Portfolios. Please read the prospectus of
the Portfolios before investing. The Portfolio' securities are not insured by
the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any other government deposit
insurer. The Portfolios are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and
past performance may not be repeated.
About National Bank of Canada
With $185 billion in assets as at April 30, 2013, National Bank of Canada
(www.nbc.ca), together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading
integrated financial groups, and was named among the 20 strongest banks in the
world by Bloomberg Markets. The Bank has close to 20,000 employees and is
widely recognized as a top employer. Its securities are listed on the Toronto
Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow the Bank's activities via social media and
learn more about its extensive community involvement at clearfacts.ca and
commitment.nationalbank.ca.
APPENDIX A
_____________________________________________________________________
|Portfolio |Current Investment |Proposed New Investment|
| |Objective |Objective |
|______________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Meritage Canadian |The Portfolio's |The Portfolio's |
|Equity Class |investment objectives |investment objective is|
|Portfolio |are to achieve |to obtain a comparable |
| |long-term capital |return to that of the |
| |appreciation by |Meritage Canadian |
| |investing primarily in|Equity Portfolio (the |
| |a diverse mix of |"Underlying Fund"). |
| |Canadian equity mutual| |
| |funds. |The Portfolio invests |
| | |mainly in units of the |
| | |Underlying Fund and/or |
| | |in securities of the |
| | |mutual funds held by |
| | |the Underlying Fund |
| | |and/or in mutual funds |
| | |similar to those funds,|
| | |based on a similar |
| | |weighting to that used |
| | |by the Underlying Fund.|
|______________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Meritage Global Equity|The Portfolio's |The Portfolio's |
|Class Portfolio |investment objectives |investment objective is|
| |are to achieve |to obtain a comparable |
| |long-term capital |return to that of the |
| |appreciation by |Meritage Global Equity |
| |investing primarily in|Portfolio (the |
| |a diverse mix of |"Underlying Fund"). |
| |global equity mutual | |
| |funds. |The Portfolio invests |
| | |mainly in units of the |
| | |Underlying Fund and/or |
| | |in securities of the |
| | |mutual funds held by |
| | |the Underlying Fund |
| | |and/or in mutual funds |
| | |similar to those funds,|
| | |based on a similar |
| | |weighting to that used |
| | |by the Underlying Fund.|
|______________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Meritage Growth Class |The Portfolio's |The Portfolio's |
|Portfolio |investment objectives |investment objective is|
| |are to achieve |to obtain a comparable |
| |long-term capital |return to that of the |
| |appreciation by |Meritage Growth |
| |investing primarily in|Portfolio (the |
| |a diverse mix of |"Underlying Fund"). |
| |fixed-income and | |
| |equity mutual funds. |The Portfolio invests |
| | |mainly in units of the |
| | |Underlying Fund and/or |
| | |in securities of the |
| | |mutual funds held by |
| | |the Underlying Fund |
| | |and/or in mutual funds |
| | |similar to those funds,|
| | |based on a similar |
| | |weighting to that used |
| | |by the Underlying Fund.|
|______________________|______________________|_______________________|
|Meritage Equity Class |The Portfolio's |The Portfolio's |
|Portfolio |investment objectives |investment objective is|
| |are to achieve |to obtain a comparable |
| |long-term capital |return to that of the |
| |appreciation by |Meritage Equity |
| |investing primarily in|Portfolio (the |
| |a diverse mix of |"Underlying Fund"). |
| |fixed-income and | |
| |equity mutual funds. |The Portfolio invests |
| | |mainly in units of the |
| | |Underlying Fund and/or |
| | |in securities of the |
| | |mutual funds held by |
| | |the Underlying Fund |
| | |and/or in mutual funds |
| | |similar to those funds,|
| | |based on a similar |
| | |weighting to that used |
| | |by the Underlying Fund.|
|______________________|______________________|_______________________|
SOURCE National Bank of Canada
(The telephone number provided below is for the exclusive use of journalists
and other media representatives.)
Marie-Pierre Jodoin Senior Advisor - Public Affairs National Bank Tel.:
514-394-4209
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2013/01/c3139.html
CO: National Bank of Canada
ST: Quebec
NI: FIN NP FIN
-0- Aug/01/2013 21:00 GMT